from the bike tribe -

FYI,

hi all,
not sure if you've been seeing the emails flying around about this
(see our member email item going out today, below). I thought it was
a hoax myself, but I've now seen several people do this, and it's a
REAL problem.

We're talking w/ the police and media about it. I can let you know
more if you're interested, as things develop. It's really bad, ugh,
one more thing to deal with.

You may be getting calls on this at Bike Hotline, so......


leah


WARNING TO SAFEGUARD YOUR BIKE -- MAJOR SECURITY GLITCH FOUND IN
POPULAR U-LOCKS!!!
>The SFBC has just learned that Kryptonite and many other major
>U-lock brands have been found to have a glitch that allows anyone
>using basic household items to easily open these locks in seconds.
>We want to let our members know right away that it may be unsafe to
>leave your bikes outside locked with a regular U-lock, so please
>take extra precautions (see below) and spread the word to your
>biking friends.
>
>It appears that any bicycle locked with a U-lock may be in danger of
>being stolen, given that the information about how to easily open
>these locks has spread all over the internet, and we are already
>getting calls from the media. We advise bicyclists to keep their
>bikes with them at all times, or to utilize the free attended bike
>parking at the Embarcadero Bikestation within the Embarcadero BART/
>Muni station. Building managers who currently ban bikes in their
>buildings should be urged to relax this ban, at least until lock
>manufacturers address this fatal flaw.
>
>We have been receiving increasing reports of bike thefts in recent
>months, and it's unclear whether this is related to the glitch
>discovered in U-locks. Regardless, the SFBC is pushing the SF Police
>Department to ramp up their attention to the issue of bike thefts,
>expand their sting operations, and to develop a better system for
>tracking serial numbers so that stolen bikes can be returned to
>their owners. If you haven't already done so, this is an important
>reminder to do two crucial things that may make your bike
>recoverable if stolen: first, record the serial number of your
>bikes, and, second, take photos of your bikes. Keep these materials
>in a safe place, in the unfortunate event that you may need them.

Now we need volunteer help to get the word out to unsuspecting
bicyclists about this unfortunate problem. Can you spend an hour or
so this week or next week helping the SFBC hand out flyers and our
"Freezer Registration Form" (for recording bike info.) alerting
fellow riders along key bike routes? We particularly need help during
morning and afternoon rush hours, but any time of day would be
appreciated. We have the materials, we just need some helping hands.
Contact Josh Hart at josh@sfbike.org to help out.

To find out more from Kryptonite (which is not the only brand w/ the
problem, but seems to be the largest), contact their customer service
department at 1-800-SAY-LOCK. The Kryptonite company, who was
apparently just informed about this 48 hours ago, is expected to be
releasing a statement with more information. We'll keep you posted as
we find out more.


--

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Leah Shahum
Executive Director
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition